The newly elected US President Donald Trump said that he would not allow China to control the Panama Canal.
"They got it for $1, and now they're taking more from our ships. China to control the Panama Canal?. That's not going to happen," Trump told reporters in Washington.
Trump was asked whether he would allow the use of military force to include Greenland in the United States. He did not give a direct answer to this question, but limited himself to the statement that his son Donald Trump Jr., who arrived in Greenland on January 7, was welcomed most warmly.
Trump arrived in Washington to say goodbye to the 39th President of the United States, Jimmy Carter, whose coffin is on display in the Central Hall of the Capitol. In addition, Trump met with Republican senators in Congress, after which he answered questions from the media. According to journalists from the White House press pool, Trump also met with members of the Carter family before visiting the Capitol.
As FACT already reported, today the coffin with the body of the 39th US president will be delivered to the Washington Cathedral, where a memorial service will be held, and then it will be sent on a special flight to Plains, Georgia, for burial.
Earlier, Trump said that the US may demand the return of control of the Panama Canal if the current conditions for its use are not reviewed. He criticized the high transit tariffs on the route, emphasizing that the transfer of control of the canal in 1999 was a "gesture of cooperation", not a concession to other countries. Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino has said that sovereignty over the canal and the country's independence are non-negotiable.
The Panama Canal, opened in 1914, was built and controlled by the United States. In 1977, the "Torrijos-Carter" Treaty established a phased transfer of the canal to Panama, completed in 1999. The agreement provides for the neutrality of the canal and its accessibility to world trade. It remains a vital route for the global economy and a key area of interest for the United States.